Du Toit's torrent frog, the Mt. Elgon torrent frog, or the Kenya rocky river frog (''Arthroleptides dutoiti'') is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

in the family

Petropedetidae The Petropedetidae are a family of frogs containing three genera and 12 species. They are found in sub-Saharan tropical Africa and are sometimes known under common name African torrent frogs. They are inhabitants of the splash-water zone of cle ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Mount Elgon Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda.

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

; it has not been found on the

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n part of the mountain. It is one of many, often taxonomically unrelated, frogs referred to as

torrent frog Torrent frogs are a number of unrelated frogs that prefer to inhabit small rapid-flowing mountain or hill streams with a lot of torrents. They are generally smallish neobatrachians with a greyish-brown and usually darkly mottled back, giving them e ...

s. The species was found by Cornelius Albertus du Toit, who collected the frog holotype in 1934. Dr. du Toit was a member of the Cape Town University, a founder member of the Zoological Society of South Africa, and Professor of Zoology at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. He wrote ''Zoological research in South Africa'' in 1961.

Description

''A. dutoiti'' is a small frog, about in length. Its head is slightly broader than long, with distinctly visible tympana. The toes but not the fingers are half-webbed. The skin of the back is distinctly warty and pitted, but smooth elsewhere. This species is black in colour, except for the digit tips that are slightly white-edged.

Habitat

''A. dutoiti'' is found in and around rocky montane streams. Eggs are laid on wet rocks close to torrential streams and waterfalls, and the

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

s develop on the rocks, out of the water.

Conservation

''A. dutoiti'' is an

EDGE species Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species are animal species which have a high 'EDGE score', a metric combining endangered conservation status with the genetic distinctiveness of the particular taxon. Distinctive species have ...

, reflecting its evolutionary distinctness and endangered status. It was last seen in 1962, despite later surveys. Because the habitat of this species appears to be generally in good condition, its disappearance might have been caused by disease such as chytridiomycosis.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q305129 Arthroleptides EDGE species Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Kenya Endemic fauna of Kenya Amphibians described in 1935 Taxa named by Arthur Loveridge Taxonomy articles created by Polbot